Belt buckle



No. 11, 1941. v. K. COOPER 2,262,269

BELT BUCKLE Filed Sept. 1'7, 1940l 1N VENTOR. V/RG/L K. C OOPEP A TTORNEK Patented Nov. 11, 1941 UNITED STAT-ES"A PATENT OFFICE BELT Virgil K. Cooper, Wheeling, W. Va. Application September 17, 1940, Serial No. 357,128 8 Claims. /(Cl. 241-8) My invention relates generally to belt buckles, and more particularly to buckles which are used in combination with a belt to support articles of clothing or as a decorative accessory therefor.

Heretofore, when it has been desired to have a quick acting, positive holding belt and buckle, it has been necessary to rely upon a ratchet-like member, usually afilxed to the belt, engaged by a pawl or spring-pressed member which holds the ratchet in the desired position. Such belts and buckles have never been very popular, due to the fact that they have usually been rather unsightly, and in addition, after a certain amount of use, they have worn or otherwise deteriorated so that they no longer provide a positive holding for the belt.

It is therefore a major object of my invention to provide a belt buckle which will furnish a quick acting and positive holding means for the belt and which will retain the ability to do this as long as the belt itself lasts.

It is another object of my Vinvention to provide such a belt buckle which is simple to use and both novel and attractive in appearance.

These and other objects of my invention willbeccme apparent from the following description of a preferred form thereof, and from the drawing illustrating that form, in which:

Fig. 1 is a reduced elevational viewof a belt and buckle embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the buckle showing the free end of the belt in the process of being inserted therein,

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the buckle with the belt in locked position,

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the buckle taken at 4--4 in Fig. 3, and showing the belt held there- 1n,

Fig. 5 is an end elevational view taken at 5-5 in Fig. 3, and

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view of the forces acting upon the holding ring of the buckle.

Referring now to the drawing, the numeral ID indicates a belt of leather, cloth, or other suitable material, having attached at one end thereof a buckle II, and having outwardly extending studs I2, I2a, I2b, etc., spaced along the freeend portion thereof. `The belt I may be attached to the buckle II by means of a bail I3, through which one end of the belt is looped and held by means such as rivets I4, but it will be apparent that other suitable means may be used as desired. As shown in Fig. 5, the buckle II has a vertical back or base plate I somewhat wider than the free end of the belt III, and pro- 55.

vided with forwardly-extending top and bottom members I6 and I 1, respectively. At the forward end of the top and bottom members I6 and I1 are vertically-positioned flange members I8 and I9 directed towards each other, but spaced apart so that a horizontal slot is formed between them. The base plate I5, the top and bottom members I6 and Il, and the ilanges I8 and I9 thus cooperate to form a C-shaped member which may be readily formed from a single sheet of metal with very few operations. The central hollow portion of the C-shaped member is adapted to receive the free end of the belt I0, and the studs I2 and I2al are adapte-d to extend through the slot 30 between flanges I8 and` I9 when the free end of the belt has been inserted in the buckle.

Attached to the outer or forward surfaces of the flanges I8 and I9, I provide a keeper member 20 preferably having an inverted L-shape, and spaced outwardly from the ilanges as seen best in Figs. 1-3. The keeper may be held to the flanges I8 and I9 by rivets, with washers or other suitable means placed between the keeper and the flanges to retain the two in their proper spaced relationship. The keeper 20 is disposed so thatv the vertical leg of the L extends from the upper flange I8 downwardly across the slot 30 to the.

lower portion of the lower flange I 9, and the horizontal leg of the L extends from the upper end of the vertical leg toward the free end of the buckle. A rivet 2| at the outer end of the horizontal leg holds that end of the keeper to the flange I8, a rivet 22 at the junction of the horizontal and vertical legs secures that portionV to the ilange I8, and a rivet 23 holds the lower end of the vertical leg to the flange I 9.

To complete the assembly, a ring 24 is loosely hung on the rivet 22 so that it may be moved freely without binding between the keeper and be held in locked position by reason of the ring 24 dropping down behind a stud I2; and since the ring is free to move about the rivet 22, the

rivet 2I is provided to prevent the ring from turning'backward about the rivet 22 and permitting the stud to pass out of the slot. rlhe rela-vr of the buckle II with the studs I2 and I2al projecting through the slot 30 between flanges I8 and I9. In this position, as the end'ofvthe4 The belt is designed toV belt is moved inwardly into the buckle, the rst stud I2 comes in contact with the ring 24 and rotates the latter in a counter-clockwise direction about the rivet 22 as a pivot until the ring is entirely above the stud I2, as shown in Fig. 2. As the stud passes beyond this point, the ring 24 will drop down to its normal position, shown in Figs. l and 3, where it is pendently supported by the rivet 22, with the stud I2 beyond it. If the belt is now pulled, in an attempt to open it, the stud I2 will bear against the adjacent side of the ring 24 (the right-hand side of Fig. 3), and will tend to turn it in a clockwise direction about the pivot 22. However, this movement of the ring is restrained by the rivet 2| and hence the ring cannot move above the path of the stud, and the latter is thereby securely locked in place. When it is desired to loosen or open the belt, it is only necessary to move the stud I2 a slight distance away from the ring 24, and then lift the ring 24 upwardly to the position shown in Fig. 2, whereupon the stud may be readily moved outwardly.

It will thus be seen that it is essential to th'e proper functioning of the device that the stud I2 pass freely between the flanges I8 and I9 and pass under the keeper member 20 without touching the latter, while at the same time projecting far enough outwardly to engage the ring 24. In this connection, it should be noted that it is necessary for the ring 24 to extend downwardly a sufficient distance 30 to insure the engagement of the stud I2 with the ring and prevent the stud from being withdrawn except when the ring is manually raised above the slot. It is not necessary, of course, that a ring yof the proportionate size shown be used, the larger size being illustrated so that the details may be more readily observed, but it will be apparent that if too small a ring is used, its physical strength may be insufficient to prevent its being crushed, thus damaging the buckle so that its normal operation would no longer b'e possible.

Since the ring shown is circular, it will be apparent that if the rivet 2I is not properly positioned, the stud I2 will bear against the ring 24 and urge the latter against the rivet 2I in such a manner as to force the ring upwardly and out of the path of the stud. Obviously, if such a condition is allowed to occur, the ring is useless as a holding member, and hence it is necessary for the proper operation of my buckle that the ring 24 be urged downwardly, or at the very least, subjected to total compression forces only which do not tend to urge it in either an upward or downward direction.

In Fig. 6, I have illustrated diagrammatically the forces which may b'e acting on a ring prop-A erly holding the stud. In this gure, the numeral 24 indicates the ring 24, the line I2f indicates the force applied bythe stud I2, the line 2If indicates the force applied by Ithe rivet 2I,1 and the line 22j indicates the force applied by the rivet 22, it being understood of course that the length of the lines does not represent the magnitude of the forces, but indicates only their direction. All of the forces acting upon the ring 24 may be resolved into radial and tangential components, and in the diagram, I have indicated the radial components of the forces I2f and 2If, and shown them as meetingin the center of the ring, giving rise to a resultant force 26j which extends in a generally ldownward direction.r Such a'resolution of forces, inV

accordance with elementary laws oi physics, may be made for any position of the ring 24, and the stud I2 and rivet 2|. From such a resolution, it will be seen that in order for the ring 24 to be retained between the stud I2, and the rivet 2|, it is necessary that the resultant of the forces acting at these two points be directed away from the arc of the ring extending from the stud I2, past the rivet 22, to the rivet 2I, and this condition obtains when the arc just described includes less than 180. Thus, it is seen that it is not necessary that the stud I2 contact the ring 24 at a point above the latters center, and hence the ring may be applied in various decorative designs in which the ring may extend varying l distances below th'e bottom edge of the top flange I8.

llt; will be noted that so long as the arc of the ring 24 including the stud I2 and the rivets 22 and 2I is less than 180, the rivet 2l may be placed so that the ring must swing through a greater or lesser angle before it hits the rivet 2I. However, if the ring 24 is permitted to swing through too great an angle before contacting the rivet 2|, there is a possibility that the belt may be slackened, so (that the ring can move in a direction generally upwardly and a little to one side of the rivet 2 I. In such a case, when the belt is again tightened, the stud I2 could pass beneath the ring 24, and thus be disengaged from the buckle. Again, if the arc between the stud I2 and the rivets 2I and 22 is too small, and the ring 24 is moved through too small an angle before contacting the rivet 2I, the stud I2 must be moved a greater distance past its locked position in order to permit the ring 24 to drop down in back of the stud I2 and hold the latter, or similarly, to move th'e ringV upwardly so that the stud may be passed beneath it.

It will be apparent from this description that the shape of the keeper member may be modi. fied Vas desired for decorative or other purposes.,

its sole function being to keep the ring 24 inaj.

plane parallel to the flanges I8 and I9; and so,

long as this is done, the shape of the keeper member is unimportant. Likewise, the rivet 2l may join the keeper member or it may be separate therefrom, and in some decorative designs,

.it may .be desirable to provide a keeper which is entirely separate from the rivet 2I, permitting the latter to be an isolated projection which may. or may not be a part of the design. .1

From the foregoing, it will also be seen tha the ring 24 may be of various shapes other than circular, and may vbe of any convenient size. However, the smaller the ring 24, the closer the studs I2 and I2a may be placed, thus providing ner adjustment of the belt.

While the form of my invention described in detail herein is fully capable of providing the advantages stated, it is to be understood, of

course, that it is merely illustrative of the broad principles of my invention as dened by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a belt having an outwardly projecting stud adjacent its free end, of a bucklefattached to the other end thereof, which includes: a member adapted to receive the free end of said belt; a ring carried by said member and adapted to be moved upwardly by inwardv motion of said stud; and means limiting the travel of said ring when sai-d stud is urged out' wardly, whereby said belt is locked in said `bucklefi 2. A device as described in claim 1 in which said belt-receiving member is provided with a slot through which said stud projects and is free to move longitudinally.

3. The combination with a belt having an outwardly projecting stud adjacent its free end, of a. buckle attached to the other end thereof, which includes: a member adapted to receive the free end of said belt, said member having a slot extending the length thereof through which said stud may project; a ring attach-ed to the upper portion of said member and extending across said slot, whereby inward movement of said stud will movesaid ring upwardly and out of the path of said stud; and means limiting the movement of said ring whereby outward movement of said stud will cause said ring to engage said limiting means and lock said stud in said slot.

4. A device as described in claim 3 in which said ring is looselyr suspended from a projection on said belt receiving member, and is retained in a plane parallel to the plane of the free end of said belt.

5. The combination with a belt having an outwardly projecting stud adjacent its free end, of a buckle attached to the other en-d thereof, which includes: a member adapted to receive the free end of said belt and having a slot through which said stud may extend; a ring pendently attached to the upper portion of said member and extending across at least a portion of said slot, said ring being slidable and rotatable about its point of support; holding means retaining said ring in a plane parallel to the plane of the free end of said belt, whereby said ring may be moved upwardly above said slot by the inward movement of `said stud; and limiting means adapted to prevent said ring from being moved above said slot when said stud is moved outwardly, whereby said stud is retained in said slot.

6. A device as described in claim 5 in which the arc of said ring extending from said stud, past said point of support to said holding means, is less than 180.

7. The combination with a belt having an out wardly projecting stud adjacent its free end, of a buckle attached to the other end thereof, which includes: a C-shaped member adapted to receive the free end of said belt in its central portion, said stud being disposed so as to extend through the slot of said C-shaped member; a ring suspended from a pin extending outwardly from the upper portion of said C-shaped member, said ring extending across a portion of said slot; holding means retaining said ring in a plane parallel to the plane of said free end of said belt, whereby said ring may be engaged by said stud and moved above said slot when said stud is moved inwardly; and limiting means consisting of a projection extending outwardly from said C-shaped member and adapted to limit the motion of said ring when said stud is moved outwardly, whereby said ring is prevented from being moved above said slot by said stud, and said stud is retained in said slot.

8. A device as described in claim 7 in which the arc of said ring extending from said stud, past said point of support to said holding means, is less than 180.

VIRGIL K. COOPER. 

